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Whittier Neighborhood Background:

Hess Roise and Company were hired by the Whittier Alliance, the officially recognized citizen-participation neighborhood organization, to complete a neighborhood-specific historic context study and preservation design guidelines for the entire neighborhood, as well as the Washburn Fair Oaks historic district, which was locally designated in 1976 and listed on the National Register in 1978. The original historic district guidelines were written in 1976, were only three pages long, and did not deal with several important issues, including restrictions on windows; these guidelines were in need of updating. The context study was completed by Hess Roise in the fall of 2009, at which point work was begun on the design guidelines.

When drafting the guidelines, Hess Roise used the Secretary of the Interior Standards for both the historic district and the neighborhood as a whole. The company was also looking at the recent Warehouse District guidelines as a template for the depth of information that the

Washburn Fair Oaks district might need in order to create an ideal level of protection. The previous guidelines for this local historic district were drafted in 1976: they consisted of only three pages, and did not address items like windows, nor did the guidelines have any images as examples. The neighborhood design guidelines became another issue.

Hess Roise has been working to make the guidelines easy to understand and as accessible and educational as possible. The guidelines will address preserving the existing character of the neighborhood, as well as existing character of residential and commercial properties

individually: this includes any new construction that comes into the area. The overall goal is create a document that could be used as a planning resource and potentially one that could be transformed easily, should the neighborhood seek conservation district status in the future.

One of the struggles of the residents right now is understanding the scope of control they can have over new construction or any other major alterations.1 As it stands, the guidelines are purely voluntary and educational, and the neighborhood association has no real power to enforce them. Because of this, the Whittier neighborhood has done its own research into the possibility of a conservation district in order to have more control over what happens within the

neighborhood. There is also a possibility of designating more historic districts in the area, particularly in one section where land occupied by older workers’ homes was recently rezoned to allow multi-story, mixed-use residential buildings, potentially threatening these smaller

dwellings.

1 _{Many residents in the neighborhood would like fuller control over design decisions in the area. Some, in fact,}

have suggested that the existing historic neighborhood boundaries be extended to include more of the

surrounding neighborhood; unfortunately, this is not a viable option, as the historic integrity of the surrounding areas has not been well-maintained.

Whittier residents have several concerns associated with future planning and development in their neighborhood. The neighborhood is also experiencing development pressure along its commercial corridors. Nicollet has been a relative success because of Eat Street, but there are smaller-scale businesses along Lyndale that the neighborhood would like to keep intact, and not lose to the newer, large-scale developments that are happening along Nicollet. Along these corridors, there is a great deal of pressure for three- or four-story mixed- use residential buildings. The slowing economy may have bought the neighborhood some time in dealing with these issues. Absentee landlords who fail to maintain their properties are another pressing concern. The neighborhood and the new guidelines are attempting to encourage people to take better care of their properties and do things that help to maintain the historic features and character.

In order to create these guidelines, a relationship between the residents of the Whittier neighborhood and Hess Roise and Company was very important. Funding came partly from Neighborhood Revitalization Plan money, as well as a grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation to actually create the guidelines. The Whittier Alliance is a very active and well- organized neighborhood group with a Preservation Committee that has been meeting with Hess Roise during this process.

Hess Roise is now focusing mainly on the neighborhood guidelines, the thought being that the local historic district has some protection in place, while the neighborhood currently has none. Some thought has been put into the streetscape of the community, but so far the Whittier streetscape has not been largely threatened in the same way that others have been. Individual properties are now the major focus of the guidelines. In creating these documents, the group has been attempting to anticipate future changes in the neighborhood in terms of development, including future expansions of MCAD or the Art Institute.

Currently, no discussion has taken place regarding the process of implementing these design guidelines. To a degree, the Whittier neighborhood may have a process in place where business or property owners would meet with a land use committee. In the past, the

neighborhood has shown true engagement and concern when not included in the process, and residents have come to public hearings to protest projects they find unappealing.

Lessons learned:

The neighborhood still wishes for there to be more control over what can and cannot happen within the neighborhood. In order to do this, they would need more power over construction, as they would get with a historic district, or possibly could have with a

conservation district. A few questions to consider: how much more work would it be for the neighborhood or the city to regulate a conservation district than just having advisory guidelines? How do you enforce it? Is it the HPC or the neighborhood making decisions? Who is in

control? What other political situations might this open up? Is it possible for developers to “stack” the committee to their favor over time?

Contacts for further information:

Marian Biehn, Executive Director of the Whittier Alliance: 612-871-7756,

[email protected]

National Trust Bulletin on Conservation Districts

Sources:

http://whittieralliance.org/